US2484572A

US2484572A - Frozen food plant

Info

Publication number: US2484572A
Application number: US743497A
Authority: US
Inventors: Pearle T Jude
Original assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Current assignee: Motors Liquidation Co
Priority date: 1947-04-24
Filing date: 1947-04-24
Publication date: 1949-10-11
Anticipated expiration: 1966-10-11

Description

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P. T. JUDE FROZEN FOOD PLANT Oct. 11, 1949.

Filed April 24, 19.47

BY M Oct. 11,f 1949. P. T. JUDE FROZEN FOOD PLANT 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 24,. 1947 NVENTOR. frau: TJuof.

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.Patented Oct. 1l, 1949 2,484,572 FROZEN FOOD Il"I'.iAN.l4

Pearlc T. Jude, Minneapolis, Minn., assigner to General Motors Corporation, Dayton, Ohio, a

corporation of Delaware appiicaiion April zi, mi. serial No. 143,491

zclalml.

This invention relates to refrigeration and particularly to locker plantswherein frozen articles are placed for cold storage.

Ordinarily a cold storage locker plant or building comprises a refrigerated room in which is located a. plurality or individual lockers for the reception and storage of frozen articles, a non-refrigerated processing room in which meat is cut up and prepared for freezing and a sharp freezing room maintained at a very low temperature for receiving the meat cuts or other articles to be frozen prior to removal to lockers in the cold storage room. It has been the practice to provide access .to the various rooms of such a locker plant by door openings of a size permitting a person to walk therethrough. Thus the operator or plant attendant, after cutting up meat or preparing other articles in the processing room to be frozen, has been required to carry the articles into the sharp freezing room. This has been very objectionable because the attendant of such a plant, in passing from the relatively warm processing room into the sharp freezing room, is subjected rto extreme temperature changes which imperils the attendants health. My invention is directed particularly to a cold storage locker plant arrangement wherein the foregoing objection is eliminated.

An object of my invention is to provide an improved cold storage locker plant.

Another object of my invention is to provide an arrangement of elements in a cold storage locker -plant which will permit the plant attendant to place articles in the sharp freezing zone thereof without being subjected to extreme tem- 35 perature changes or to the low temperature of the sharp freezing zone.

In carrying out the foregoing objects it is a further and more specific object of my invention to provide a cold storage locker plant with a sharp 40 freezing compartment having a first service doorway permitting articles to be placed therein from within a processing room of the plant and a second service doorway permitting removal from the compartment of the frozen articles from within a locker room of the plant.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accomininyV ing drawings, wherein a. preferred form of the present invention is 'clearly shown.

i Inthedrawings:

Fig. 1 is a view partly in plan and partly in horizontal section illustrating the invention; and

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionalv view taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, a building or plant, defined by the walls 8, is divided by a wall l into 5 'a processing room maintained at a temperature above freezing, in which articles or products are prepared to be frozen in a sharp freezing zone and a relatively large cold storage room i2 in which is located a plurality of lockers I3 for individual customer use and wherein the air is cooled to below freezing temperatures. The individual storage lockers or compartments I3 may be of any well known construction. For example, they may be in the form of slidable drawers and are usually provided with key actuated or combination closed by doors indicated Iat I6 may be provided for customer entrance into the locker room I2 and into the processing room from the exterior of the plant, and also between the locker room and the processing room. Processing room I may be provided with suitable windows I'l and work tables or ledges I8.

In the present disclosure I provide a sharp freezing zone or compartment 2| within the locker room I2. Compartment 2| is formed by a 3o casing 22 Iand some lockers I3 may be located above this casing while others may be located in back of the casing 22. The walls of compartment 2| may, if desired, be formed of or lined with any suitable insulating material. A service doorway 25 in the one wall of sharp freezing compartment 2|, the wall forming the partition -between rooms and l2, provides communication between the processing room and the interior of compartment 2|. Another service doorway 26' provided in the front wall of casing 22 and spaced from the doorway 25 affords communication with the interior of sharp freezing compartment 2| from within the locker room I2. The

doorways

25 and 26 are small Ias compared to the doors I6 and are to be distinguished therefrom in the present disclosure and in prior known structures in that they are substantially table-high service doorways only and permit passage therethrough of relatively small objects or packages. A conveyor device in the form of a pluralityof rollers `28 are mounted upon a suitable support 29 within the sharp freezing compartment 2|` and these rollers bridge the space between the

servicedoorways

25 and 26. The roller support `29 is mounted .so as to incline the plurality of rollers 2l upandere wardly from the doorway 28 toward the doorway 26 for a purpose to be hereinafter described While I have shown the conveyor device as comprising rotatable rollers it is to be understood that this device may be in the form of belt or other conventional apparatus.

` vIn order to cool the interior of sharp freezing compartment 2| an evaporator 3| connected to any suitable or conventional refrigerating system (not shown) is mounted in a shroud 32 compartment 2|. A blower or fan operated by a motor 33 located within shroud 32 draws air over the evaporator 3| to cool same and forc the cold air over articles contained in wire baskets or the like indicated at 34 and adapted to be supported on' the rollers 28. In order to cool the locker storage room I2 an evaporator 34 connected to any suitable or conventional refrigerating system (not shown) is suspended from the ceiling of room I2 and if forced air cooling is desired within this room a blower or fan may be associated with evaporator 36 in the well known manner for circulating air thereover. Suitable or conventional controls may be employed for starting and stopping operation of the refrigerating apparatus or systems to which the evaporators 3| and 36 are connected to `cause evaporator 36.to cool the air within locker room I2 to a temperature below freezing and to cause evaporator 3| to cool the air within sharp freezing compartment 2| preferably far below the below freezing temperature maintained in room I2.

In the use of the plant disclosed a locker customer will bring meat to the attendant of the plant who will take the meat into the processing room and cut it up into the desired pieces to provide the customer with steaks, roasts and the like. The piece of meat or meat cuts are wrapped in suitable material for storing the same in cold storage and are placed in the wire or the like baskets 34. The plant attendant will then open the doorway or service door 25 and place a lled basket or=baskets 34 upon the conveyor device or rollers 28 `from within the processing room. In this manner much time is saved because the necessity of the plant attendant to carry the articles from the processing room into the freezing room is eliminated and the plant attendant is not exposed to the sub-freezing temperature within a lfreezing room. Weight of the contents of a. basket 34, after being placed on the conveyor device, causes the basket to move or slide downwardly on the inclined conveyor device into a position adjacent the service doorway 26. Other baskets will be supported within the freezing compartment 2| on the conveyor rollers 28 in the space intermediate the doorways 25 and 26.y Operation of the refrigerating system to which evaporator 2| is connected and motor 33 may have been previously started and the low temperature of air circulated over or about lthe meat or other articles within the baskets 34 will quickly freeze same. After the meat or other articles have been permitted to remain in the sharp freezing compartment 2| for a predetermined period of time to become frozen the doorway or door 26, accessible from within room I2,

. is opened and the baskets 34 containing the a continuous wrapped frozen articles are removed from compartment 2|. frozen articles may then *be placed directly into the customers individual locker I3 within room I2 for cold storage.

The fbaskets are emptied and the In view of the foregoing it will be apparent that I have provided an improved locker plant wherein the plant attendant may place articles in a freezing zone to be frozen from within the processing room and without being subjected to the low temperature of the freezing zone or compartment. By locating the freezing compartment within the locker storage room which is maintained below 32 F. this compartment never attains a temperature above freezing. Consequently the temperature'within the freezing compartment may be reduced to that suitable for fast freezing in a few moments after the arrival of a customer and while the customers meat or other articles to be frozen are being'processed and wrapped for freezing. I'hus the expense of maintaining the temperature of the freezing compartment at all times far below freezing is eliminated. The arrangement of elements of the locker plant as disclosed not only eliminates imperilling oi' the plant attendant's health but also facilitates the operation of handling, processing, freezing and storing of meats or other articles.

While the form of embodiment of the invention as herein disclosed, constitutes a preferred form, it is to be understood that other forms might be adopted, as may come within the scope of the claims which follow.

What is claimed is as follows:

1. A locker plant comprising in combination,

cold storage locker room. means for cooling said locker room to a temperature below freezing, a sharp freeze compartment within said cold storage locker room for receiving articles to be frozen prior to removal to lockers in said locker room. means for cooling said sharp freeze compartment to a temperature below the below freezing temperature of said locker room, a processing room adjacent said sharp freeze compartment wherein articles are prepared for freezing in said compartment and wherein a temperature above freezing is maintained, said sharp freeze compartment having a service doorway providing communication with said processing room for permitting a person to place articles prepared in said processing room into said compartment without being subjected substantially to the low temperature therein.- said sharp freeze compartment also having another service doorway spaced from said first service doorway and adapted to provide communication with said cold storage locker room. a conveyor device within s aid compartment bridging the space between said spaced apart service doorways for receiving and supporting articles placed into the compartment through said first named doorway and'for conveying same intol a position adjacent said another compartment service doorway, and said another service doorway permitting articles frozen in said compartment to be removed therefrom and directly placed into lockers in said cold storage locker room.

2. A locker plant comprising in combination, a cold storage locker room, means for cooling said-cold storage locker room ,to a temperature below freezing, a sharp freeze compartment within -said cold storage locker room for receiving articles to be frozen prior to removal to lockers in said room, means for cooling said sharp freeze compartment to a temperature below the below freezing temperature of said locker room, a processing room adjacent said sharp freeze compartment wherein articles are prepared for freezing in said compartment and wherein a temperature nbmfmumummmnemwamm nmmcsscrrm mmmt mm m m" m The following references are of record ln the munlcttinl with the interior of sddlockel'mom. ma u( u, Mt: and said 'sharp freue compartment also hvlnz another ser'vl doorwy eommunlcanl with the 5 m STAT PATENTS interior of said processlnl room whereby a. person `Number Name Date may place articles prepared in add prooslng 1.753.828 4Greer et d Apr. 8. 1930 mm mw ma mpmmenc umm: um; m-

Bollo-ra -fgg: fmmbsmwy un l" mmm 1 21165513 smith I July' n: 1m 2,259,803 Cumminl Oct. 21, 1941 PEARL! T. JUDE. '2,436,117 Hman Peb. 17, 1948